'CBI framing Sanatan men in Dabholkar case at NCP's behest'

Mumbai: Right-wing outfit Sanatan Sanstha today accused the CBI of trying to frame its members in the rationalist Narendra Dabholkar murder case at the behest of Nationalist Congress Party.

The Sanstha also demanded removal of a CBI officer from investigation and his suspension for "falsely implicating seekers of Sanatan".

Addressing a press conference, spokesperson of the outfit, Abhay Vartak said, "The officer was falsely implicating innocent members of Sanatan Sanstha as he is working under the top brass of NCP leaders as they want the Sanstha to be eliminated".

He said followers of the Sanstha were "interrogated" by the CBI on the basis of a faulty inference. "Our seekers Hemant Shinde, Nilesh Shinde, Neeraj Yengul, Mahendra Sahastrabuddhe, Yashwant Sahastrabuddhe, Gajanan Kesar, Krishna Kumbhar were interrogated only on the impression that their mobile location was traced near the vicinity of the spot of Dabholkar's murder," Vartak said.

He alleged that the CBI team, working under the officer, an Additional Superintendent of Police, "summarily overlooked the fact that these people were visiting the same spot (of murder) for several months before for distributing and delivering daily newspaper 'Sanatan Prabhat' and their presence in the area had nothing to do with Dabholkar's murder".

Dabholkar was shot dead by unknown assailants in Pune on August 20, 2013. The case was initially investigated by the police, but was transferred to the central agency on the orders of the Bombay High Court.

"...This is why we have demanded his immediate removal from this case and initiate action against him as he already has a criminal record," Vartak alleged.

Sanstha has compiled charges, running into over 150 pages, against the officer and has sent them to the Prime Minister's Office and also to the Director of CBI in New Delhi.

"Hindu Vidhindya Parishad" secretary Sanjiv Punalekar alleged "the officer himself is a criminal and his case has already landed on the door of honourable Supreme Court. First, he should be suspended till the pendency of his inquiry and be prosecuted for his criminal misconduct".

Replying to a query, Vartak said, "the state and Central governments are having a pro-Hindu ideology, but the administrative officers in the state are dancing to the tune of other political parties, especially the NCP".